US Hwy 1 how things have changed

[arto98607]

Only good or excellent drivers on this forum eh

 

[Redlands Okie]

Obviously

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I have been on a few road rally's, they are not about speed, but about scenery and fun.
Usually we would pick some roads that were less busy, but that can be hard to do.

There were quite a few cars, probably a Seattle area club, but a significant number of them chose to turn it into a race. I had 3 tons of hay behind a gasser pickup, I would slow down on the straights and use as much paved shoulder as I felt safe to let them pass. Many other drivers weren't so courteous.

 

[kenmbz]

being discourteous should get them thrown out, supposed to follow rules 100%
Sorry this happened to you, why a lot of rage happens out there, when people skirt the rules and aggravate others.

We have one town around here where people think they can cross anywhere, at any time, when they get hit the driver gets shamed.
Hard to avoid a person jumping out and running across, even if doing 20mph.
We don't like driving in that town, nerve wracking.

 

[Oaktree]

There were quite a few cars, probably a Seattle area club, but a significant number of them chose to turn it into a race. I had 3 tons of hay behind a gasser pickup, I would slow down on the straights and use as much paved shoulder as I felt safe to let them pass. Many other drivers weren't so courteous.

I haven't been out that way since the mid 70s, but if I'm not mistaken the road you're talking about is 2 lane and winds along a river? One thing that stood out to me was that there was no solid line (ie-no passing) along this road, but broken lines everywhere indicating it was safe to pass. I thought that odd, since very little of that road had many places to pass that I'd consider safe. I do recall there being periodic pullouts so if you're holding up a line you could pull over and let them by. Not many seemed to take advantage of them though.

BTW, some pretty country out your way.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Other people and their use of phones is why I'm now a serious seat belt wearer. Used to only slip it on in town and actually had a dummy belt. Now I put it on when I shut the gate on driveway.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

One thing that stood out to me was that there was no solid line (ie-no passing) along this road, but broken lines everywhere indicating it was safe to pass.

All very true. Some of the areas deemed safe for passing would require a very slow vehicle and a very fast passing car. There are numerous slow vehicle lanes i.e. wide shoulders where one can pull over without stopping tp let traffic by and one passing lane that is about 1.25 miles long on the ascents on either side of Washington Pass, It climbs from about 2000" to 5400" west bound and from about 500' east bound but over a much greater distance.

In Washington St. the law requires one to pull over and let traffic by if there are 5 or more vehicles behind you. I've seen trains of 30 vehicles but not all that often.

It closes for winter in a couple of weeks so if I wanted to go west, it would add 90 miles each way to my trip.

 

[DieselBound]

Maybe she just didn't know how to use it, some of this techie stuff is not very intuitive.
Personally, I don't see a driver being absorbed in a phonecall behind the wheel is any less dangerous hands-free. What percentage of these calls are really all that important? Probably very small.

Driving in a straight line I suppose, but pulling out from a dead stop and turning, on to a busy highway? The LAW says "hands-free." Not only is it stupid but it's illegal!

I get it that inattentiveness is BAD, but it's hard to do anything about: other than force insurance to charge based on driver and not a pool- crappy drivers should be forced to pay MORE (and prove they've cleaned up their act).

A call is little more different than talking to passengers, and, if we're honest about it, probably safer! Passengers have moving parts that can flail about in the very vehicle you're driving (fumbling for crap etc.): and then there's the times when our dog wants to strain on her leash (harnessed for safety) and just manage to stick her nose to my wife's head- I have to shout at both to knock it off (spending time to glance at the progress of it all)!

 

[DieselBound]

I was hauling a load of hay from Arlington over North Cascades pass about 6 weeks ago. I saw what you describe a good half dozen or more times. A sports car club had apparently decided to use hwy. 20, a road full of families in motorhomes and other RVs, as their rally course. I was surprised that there weren't any accidents. My thought was if they wanted to have a rally/race, rent a race track, not a public road. Many of the cars I saw were in the $100K+ range, except for the one "impoverished" guy who drove a new or nearly new Corvette. The point of hwy.20 in the north Cascades in the scenery.

And one really needs to watch the road as it can be a LONG way DOWN if you f-up!

$100k range, LOL. There are POV rigs and their cargo that are likely $500k combined running along my highway: mega, new diesel trucks pulling fancy, mamoth horse trailers with a stable full of horse (all likely "pure breds"); I think that the term "horse sense" is all backwards- I find cattle people to be a lot smarter!

Car club folks, I've found, aren't all too bad. It's the younger guys on crotch rockets (or the folks who dress up all funny and ride Harleys) that are the biggest threats.

 

[DieselBound]

FYI - Here's a picture just off of Hwy 20 (Diablo Dam - wife and I, and the mutt, took a trip through here a couple years back and I snapped this pic):

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